


Speechless

by deepwoundsandfadedscars



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Bad Things Happen Bingo, Brain Damage, Diego whump, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-12
Updated: 2020-04-12
Packaged: 2021-03-02 00:55:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 959
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23606392
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/deepwoundsandfadedscars/pseuds/deepwoundsandfadedscars
Summary: After a head injury, Diego's stutter comes back and he's back to square one.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 102





	Speechless

"Heeeeey," Klaus cheerily whispered as Diego's eyes blink open, "there he is. How you feeling, bro?"

Diego had no choice but to look at Klaus, close as his brother was to the edge of the gurney that he found himself on. He was partially on his side, more or less draped across the mobile bed, like whichever way he had arrived here had been in a hurry. He closed his eyes and turned his head away from Klaus, opening them again as he looked at the ceiling. The intricate dark wood of the medical room in the Academy greeted him. 

Klaus elbowed his way further onto the bed, leaning so his head was right in Diego's face again.

"Ready to get up and face the day again?"

"Wha- what-?" Diego frowned as he searched for the words. It was right there in the back of his mind, but his mouth couldn’t form the words. _What happened?_

"You took a blow to the head and an involuntary nap, what do you remember from today?”

Diego opened his mouth to say something, _anything_ , but nothing came out and he just worked his jaw uselessly. He remembered doing his workout and then having coffee in the kitchen with Five and Allison, but after that… 

Klaus raised an eyebrow as Diego shook his head. “Do you remember your name?”

Diego glared at him with an _of course_ expression on his face, but still didn’t say anything.

“Do you remember my name? Come on man, give me something to work with here.”

Diego squeezed his eyes shut and nodded again, his frustration written across his face.

“Ca-Can’t-” He clenched his fist and pounded it into the edge of the bed. He sat up, pushing Klaus away from him and dismounting off the opposite side from his brother. The room spun as he stood up, his vision tilting and he barely managed to catch himself on the edge of the gurney. He put a hand to his head and encountered a thick piece of gauze covering the left side of his scalp.

“Ok ok ok, maybe you should stay in bed a bit longer,” Klaus said as he hurried around the bed to grab onto Diego’s arm.

“Wha-what-” _What’s wrong with me?!?_ He wanted to scream. He was over this, he had gotten over the worst of his speech impediment when he was a teenager, but suddenly he wasn’t even back at square one, it felt like square one wasn’t even in sight right now. He could feel his face flushing and his ears getting hot.

“Hey hey, just sit down, here have some water and I’ll go get Mom, just stay here, ok?” Klaus said, nervously bouncing around and grabbing the glass from the side table. Diego ignored the glass and crumpled back onto the bed so he set it down again and rushed out of the room.

Diego lay in silence, pressing the palms of his hands over his eyes, as though he could push whatever was out of alignment in his head back into place. He focused the way Mom always taught him when he was younger. _Picture the words in your mind, dear._ He pictured them, he opened his mouth, and… Nothing. It was like his voice didn’t work at all.

And that terrified him.

He could hear Mom’s heels clicking down the hallway towards him and he sat up again, scrubbing at his eyes to make sure the tears that were threatening to fall stayed put.

Grace entered by herself, which he was grateful for, but he assumed Klaus was waiting just outside the door, which he also kinda appreciated. 

“Hello dear, how are you feeling?” Grace asked, smile as bright as the sun.

Diego huffed and pressed his lips together.

“Klaus tells me you couldn’t form your words again, remember to picture them in your mind, right?”

Diego nodded his head aggressively to convey _Yeah yeah, I know._

“But the words still aren’t coming?

He shook his head.

“Try small words. Yes or no?”

“N-n-no.” It took so much effort, but he finally managed to say it.

“Ok, it’s alright dear, we’ll just have to work on it, ok?”

He nodded again, the tears that had been threatening to fall pricking at his eyes again. Grace saw his eyes getting wet and ran her hand through his hair, careful to avoid the bandage, and pulled him into a hug. Face buried in her shoulder, he finally let the tears go and dampen her blouse. They stayed like that for a few minutes, Grace just holding him until he was ready and Diego finding solace in her arms.

He pulled back when he felt another hand on his back and the mattress dip as someone sat down next to him, looking up to find Klaus next to him. Klaus had his hands clasped in front of him and the hand was still on his back, so he looked over his shoulder to find Allison standing behind him. Grace stepped back and he could see Luther hovering in the door and Five leaned against the wall next to him with his arms crossed.

“You all remember how it was when you were growing up,” Grace said, looking around at each of them, “Be patient. Give him time to put the words together and don’t interrupt him.”

“Of course,” Allison whispered, rubbing Diego’s back in small circles. He was torn between hating the pity and appreciating the gesture. “We’re here for you, Diego.”

He looked up and everyone nodded sympathetically while Klaus threw his arm across his shoulders to pull him into an awkward side hug.

He concentrated, looking down at his hands to avoid seeing the looks in everyone's eyes. “Th-tha-thanks.” 

**Author's Note:**

> If you want to like or share on Tumblr, you can find this story [ here!](https://deepwoundsandfadedscars.tumblr.com/post/185821159434/brain-damage-to-diego-it-causes-his-stutter-to)


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